Documenting Sources                 Submission Notes               Evaluation

Taking a Position/ Writing a Rebuttal

A position essay is a broader type of argument than the review, phenomena, or proposal essays but it may incorporate parts from each of these other types of essays.  The salient (or defining) trait of a position essay is that it takes a stance on a topic about which there are various opinions.  These are probably the kinds of argumentative essays that you wrote in high school that ask you to take a position for or against a topic: abortion, gay marriage, gun control, or the death penalty.  Most position essays that you will write in college and after college will not be as clear cut or as worn out as these topics.

A rebuttal--an essay that responds to another's ideas--is one type of position paper that is used often as part of argumentative essays. Write a rebuttal (3 - 4 pages) to any of the essays that we have read thus far--but do not use the same essay that you used for the rhetorical analysis. According to Good Reasons, a rebuttal involves with a refutation, in which you "emphasize the shortcomings of the argument that you wise to undermine" or a counterargument, in which you "emphasize...the positive strengths of the position you wish to support" (176-7).

According to Good Reasons, these are the salient (ie, defining) traits of a rebuttal or essay (186 - 7):

• Identify an argument to argue against as well as its main claim(s)

• Examine the facts on which the claim is based

• Examine the assumptions on which the claim is based

• Analyze your potential readers

• Decide whether to write a refutation, a counterargument--or both; for our assignment, you need to do both

For this essay, focus on: 

• a thesis statement that takes a clear stance and is qualified with brief positioning within other opinions on the topic
• providing and explaining evidence from the essay that proves your point
• explaining why the other point/s of view are not or are less convincing
• anticipating any possible counterarguments
• using signal phrases to introduce quotations and providing necessary parenthetical citations